I clenched my fists. “I’ll be fine.” One look at Eli, who was now cowering against the wall, told me he was done with his snide comments.
And everyone else was now too stunned to speak.
“Very well, then,” my father announced to the room. “Now that the drama has subsided, it’s best we go ahead and get started. Everyone take your seats.”
We all did as we were told. Jade ended up sitting between myself and Lucien, who apparently was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of her.
I made a mental note to teach him a lesson later, as well.
Part of me wanted to lean to Jade and ask her if she was okay. I wanted to tell her she didn’t need to be afraid of me, and that I wasn’t going to let people speak about her that way.
But not now. Not in front of a room full of fae who were looking for weaknesses in me.
Certainly not in front of my father.
My father cleared his throat with a sound that made me want to gag. “We have a few topics to discuss today,” he started, “but I would like to begin by welcoming our dear princess, Jade Farrow, to the meeting today.” Jade stiffened next to me, but she forced a small smile onto her face. “Jade’s role as Malachi’s wife will serve Rewyth in many ways, the first and foremost to unite the human and fae lands once and for all.”
I blinked. What was he talking about?
“How is a human supposed to unite our lands?” One of the elders asked. The elders were usually the ones to voice concern during our court meetings, especially when something was changing. Having a human in this room was the biggest change of all. “She can hardly be in a room of fae without reeking of fear. No offense intended, dear,” he said.
I glanced at Jade, half expecting some sort of sassy retort. But her expression was unchanging, as if the man’s words did nothing but bore her.
“Your concerns are something we have thought long and hard about,” my father responded. I nearly laughed out loud. How ridiculous was that? My father hardly thought about any humans, let alone bringing peace to their lands. “It is no secret that the humans and the fae have been in a feud for centuries, but for what? What started as a petty war years and years ago has now led the humans to famine and poverty. They’re starving to death every day, and our dear princess here can attest to that.”
Dozens of eyes turned to my wife. She blinked a few times, as if she were just processing what my father had said.
I took a deep breath and said, “What specifically are you hoping to achieve from this union, father?”
He turned to me with a smile big enough to show his rotting teeth. “Thank you for asking, son. This brings me to our first agenda item today.” I stiffened, bracing for his next words. I sensed Jade doing the same. “You and your wife are being sent to govern your own lands, where fae and humans will live together in one place.”
The room erupted in chaos.
CHAPTER 18
Jade
My ears were ringing, but that didn’t stop me from hearing the stream of profanity that left Malachi’s mouth as he stood from the chair.
“Everyone calm down!” the King yelled. His voice was barely audible over the crowd of fae yelling questions of their own.
“And when were you planning on sharing this plan with me, father?” Malachi asked. His face was red, and I wondered if it was from anger or embarrassment.
“I’m sharing it with you now,” his father boomed. “Now sit down.”
Malachi huffed and, to my surprise, sat back down in his chair.
I guess the beast could be controlled, after all.
After a few seconds, the room began to silence, all eyes locked on the King.
Including mine.
“This has been a plan of mine for quite some time,” he started. “And it is in Rewyth’s best interests to eventually unite the humans and the fae.”
“Why?” Someone shouted. “What could we possibly want from them?”
As much as I hated to admit it, I was actually thinking the same thing. The fae lived in wealth and riches in Rewyth. And the humans? We were scum. We were poor and sick. We had nothing.
We had nothing to give the fae.
Which means the King had something else in mind.
Malachi must have realized that too. His eyes filled with anger, curiosity and stubbornness as he stared at his father.
“The humans have something we don’t have. They may be poor. They may be sick. They may be disgusting creatures that can’t take care of themselves…”
I rolled my eyes.
“…but they have safety.”